From Picture of Liverpool: Stranger's Guide written in 1834
This dock, which cost £35,000, was opened on 17th April 1796, and the first vessel that entered it was the American Brig Baltimore.
The gates are 42 feet wide, and 28 feet deep, and over the entrance is a handsome cast iron swivel bridge. Shipping freighted with timber, and Baltic and Dutch vessels, chiefly frequent this dock. The length of the east side is 460 yards, and that on the west side is 435 yards; the north end measures 110 yards, and the south end 90 yards. On the south end and on the east and west sides, are commodious sheds for the protection of goods from the inclemencies of the weather at the time of loading or discharging.
The quay is very extensive, and between it and the river are nos 4 & 5 Graving Docks, each 170 yards in length, and admirably contrived for the building and repairing of ships. These docks communicate with the King's Dock Basin and by means of sluices in the gates, can be left dry when required for the purposes of ship building